{"id":230703,"date":"2026-06-29T05:27:20","date_gmt":"2026-06-29T05:27:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/230703\/"},"modified":"2026-06-29T05:27:20","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T05:27:20","slug":"dangerous-chemicals-55-gallon-drum-note-mentioning-ted-bundy-found-at-home-of-philadelphia-felon-linked-to-2-missing-women","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/230703\/","title":{"rendered":"Dangerous chemicals, 55-gallon drum, note mentioning Ted Bundy found at home of Philadelphia felon linked to 2 missing women"},"content":{"rendered":"

Investigators discovered a bizarre and twisted scene inside the Philadelphia home of a felon they\u2019re probing over possible links to at least two missing women \u2014 including a stockpile of dangerous chemicals, a 55-gallon drum, several urns, hidden compartments, multiple guns and a creepy handwritten letter with references to Ted Bundy. <\/p>\n

Eugene Horsch, 44, was arrested on drug and firearms charges after the FBI and local police searched his dilapidated brick home in the Olney section of the city and found a trove of chemicals, firearms, and drugs, Philadelphia Police Deputy Commissioner Frank Vanore announced during a press conference Friday.<\/a><\/p>\n

Eugene Horsch, 44, after police discovered a trove of dangerous chemicals, firearms, and drugs in his home. Philadelphia Police Department<\/p>\n

The investigation was sparked when a US park ranger overheard an argument between Horsch and his girlfriend in a parked car near Independence Hall in Old City on June 19, police said.<\/p>\n

After the girlfriend was heard saying, \u201cYou\u2019re going to hurt me,\u201d the ranger decided to check on the couple and informed other law enforcement agencies who came to the scene. <\/p>\n

Authorities then discovered that Horsch was allegedly carrying a fake Drug Enforcement Administration badge, a switchblade, and two guns with \u201cobliterated serial numbers,\u201d Vanore told reporters.<\/p>\n

Horsch\u2019s girlfriend also had a fake ID with her photo on it \u2014 but with a name belonging to a woman who had been reported missing.<\/p>\n

The woman whose name was on the fake ID was reported missing in February 2023 from the Kensington area, sources told the Philadelphia Inquirer.<\/a> Cops have not yet publicly identified her.<\/p>\n

The girlfriend later told police that Horsch had given her the ID to use because she had outstanding arrest warrants. Though she didn\u2019t know the missing woman, she thought something bad may have happened to her, the local outlet reported.<\/p>\n

Investigators were then led to Horsch\u2019s three-story Olney residence, where they uncovered a vast collection of dangerous chemicals, a 55-gallon drum connected to water lines, and roughly 120 pieces of ballistics evidence, cops added.<\/p>\n

Horsch\u2019s girlfriend also had an ID with her picture on it, but a name that belonged to a missing woman. Kyle Mazza\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n

The sheer amount of chemicals and the \u201cstrange setup\u201d prompted police to call in the FBI, which will help further investigate exactly what kinds of materials Horsch had been hoarding in the home.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the basement area of this property, there were chemicals. Various chemicals in bottles \u2026 some of these chemicals, if they were to be put together and obviously ignited, they could cause some hazards,\u201d Vanore said. <\/p>\n

Cops also discovered an unsigned handwritten letter that referenced hurting people, as well as serial killer Ted Bundy, the Inquirer reported.<\/p>\n

\u201cActing on emotion is where problems occur. What I don\u2019t think I told you was that the first time it was planned ahead of time. The threat was made before you know who came over, and I already had a 2ft zip tie in my pocket and a drum set up,\u201d the letter obtained by the publication stated.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had been ready and waiting, and I damn sure showed no hesitation. And it was fun,\u201d the chilling note continued.<\/p>\n

Sources told the Inquirer that they are working to learn who wrote the letter, and whether it is a piece of fiction or true.<\/p>\n

A bank card in the name of the woman who went missing in 2023 and a death certificate for another woman who died last year were also found in the home, the outlet reported.<\/p>\n

Narcotics, as well as evidence that Horsch was allegedly trying to grow more drugs, were found inside as well, Vanore said.<\/p>\n

The FBI is now helping to remove and identify the chemicals found in the Olney residence. Anadolu via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Horsch\u2019s arrest sparked concern from the family of Amy McHale, who vanished in 2016 and was last known to be at the Olney home, WPVI reported. <\/a><\/p>\n

McHale was previously married to Horsch\u2019s late father, her family told the outlet. <\/p>\n

\u201cI immediately thought they had found my mom,\u201d Amanda Stofer, the missing woman\u2019s daughter, told the outlet.<\/p>\n

Cops said they have not discovered human remains on the property, as rumors brewed in the community.<\/p>\n

Some urns, however, were inside the home and homicide investigators are now leading the probe. Cops said at least one was labeled with the name of a Horsch family member.<\/p>\n

Horsch is a convicted felon whose last case involved an assault in Philadelphia. He also has criminal charges outside of the city, Vanore said.<\/p>\n

Horsch\u2019s attorney, Jerry Brown, told the outlet that his client\u2019s father lived in the home for a long time and had \u201ca very interesting past,\u201d and he \u201cthinks a lot of the chemistry stuff is [Horsch\u2019s] father\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n

His father, R.C. Horsch, was an erotic photographer and filmmaker and had prior convictions himself, including for forgery, the Inquirer reported.<\/p>\n

In 1977, federal agents also raided R.C. Horsch\u2019s home laboratory, where they discovered equipment to manufacture and distribute methamphetamine, according to the outlet.<\/p>\n

He fled to New Zealand and later returned to California under the alias \u201cRichard Harris,\u201d according to the local paper.<\/p>\n

Authorities in hazmat suits entered the property over the weekend. Officials, including federal experts from Quantico, will continue to investigate.<\/p>\n

The FBI did not immediately respond to The Post\u2019s request for further comment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Investigators discovered a bizarre and twisted scene inside the Philadelphia home of a felon they\u2019re probing over possible…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":230704,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[21844,3635,40209,693,3640,1869,69,71,70,302],"class_list":["post-230703","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-philadelphia","tag-chemicals","tag-fbi","tag-guns","tag-investigations","tag-missing-person","tag-missing-persons","tag-philadelphia","tag-philadelphia-headlines","tag-philadelphia-news","tag-us-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/230703","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=230703"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/230703\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/230704"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=230703"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=230703"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=230703"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}